EXPLORING FROZEN FRAGMENTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
GIRLS WATCH A REINDEER ROUNDUP FROM A PERCH ON THE CORRAL FENCE
After the menfolk have slaughtered the deer, it will be women's work to skin and cut up the
carcasses, cook the meat, and dress the hides (page 649). Wales Eskimos dress only in reindeer
skins and sell all their furs to the outside world. These girls are wearing bright-colored gingham
garments over their deerskin parkas. Several wear gloves for warmth, even though it is summer.
house of Eskimo history in which are pre
served the "documents" that tell the story
of how the Eskimos lived in the past. It is
an accumulation of soil and rubbish, grad
ually piled up through the centuries by
generations of Eskimos who lived on the
site and threw away or lost all kinds of
materials-tools, weapons, utensils, orna
ments, and everything else imaginable.
Before the summer was over, this old
mound, or "kitchen midden," had provided
us with valuable information concerning
the development of prehistoric Eskimo cul
ture in this region.
To excavate the whole mound would have
been impossible, even had we so desired.
The soil was permanently frozen and we
had only three months of summer in which
to work. Consequently, we sank pits of
uniform size in various parts of the mound
to obtain material that would be repre
sentative of the entire site and at the same
time leave most of the mound intact for
future investigators.
We laid out a number of 12-foot squares
and began by removing the upper 12 inches
of solid, heavy turf within each one, to get
at the refuse beneath. As soon as this was
reached, shovels and picks were abandoned
and digging was done with trowels, so that
no small or fragile object might be injured
or lost.
NATURE'S COLD STORAGE PRESERVES
ANCIENT HISTORY
After digging only 16 inches we came to
frozen soil. Though it makes digging slow,
this natural cold storage actually has aided
very greatly in preserving the ancient his
tory of the Far North. It has discouraged
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